Shadowless Night

For apprentice knights who had become lesser knights, it was common practice to escape from the guidance of their senior knights. They rewrite their relationship to be colleagues rather than disciple-teacher.

There are many reasons, but the main reason is that an official knight receives their own mission assignment, so they don’t have enough time to follow their superiors all day. Also, when one became a lesser knight, it would be embarrassing to serve under another knight, so most people avoided it.

However, Eberhard and Leticia volunteered to continue to follow Rosaline. They said they would spend all their time with her except when doing their duties, making Rosaline jump with joy and hug them. The strength of the relationship that had only begun a few months ago was indescribable.

“We’ve made progress, but there are still many things we lack. So let’s try harder in the future, all of us,” Rosaline exclaimed.

The two of them trembled for a moment at the dreadful feeling creeping up their spines. They felt like they were doing something a little crazy, but… ‘W- We will be okay… right?’ Leticia and Eberhard awkwardly smiled as they silently exchanged glances.

But even if they continued to handle Rosaline’s needs, they wouldn’t be able to stick around all day. So more apprentices would be needed. Raymond led Rosaline by hand to the training grounds, where the apprentice knights went through drills.

There were far more new arrivals than the promoted apprentice knights, so the enormous training ground was packed. The young men and women straightened their backs and greeted the assistant deputy commander Raymond and Rosaline. Most eyes were on Rosaline.

“Glory of Idelavhim, who parts the black moon!!!” The training ground roared. 

Raymond grinned. Even if the His Majesty the Emperor came, his greeting wouldn’t be this loud.

“The glory of Idelavhim onto you. At ease. I’m only looking around to see if anyone can become Sir Rosaline’s apprentice knight.”

Raymond’s words to be at ease flew in one ear, out the other, and vanished into the air.

‘Who deserves to be Sir Rosaline’s apprentice knight?’

The crowd buzzed, ambition filled their faces, and they swung their swords in eye-catching maneuvers. The situation was funny because it was such an expected reaction. Raymond stood to the side and laughed out loud. ‘These chicks are playing cute games.’

Envy, respect, curiosity, scrutiny; eyes mixed with various emotions wandered around Rosaline. Rosaline languidly stood, her eyes narrowed in the sunlight. It seemed she was not interested in the people enthusiastically swinging their swords or doing other things to arouse her interest.

“By the way, Raymond.”

“What is it, Rosaline? Oh. Look at this guy, the one taking off his shirt. It looks like he’s trying to show you his abs.”

The man Raymond pointed to, although still growing, was an apprentice knight who could be considered handsome. He slowly took off his tunic with a sly gaze, exposing a body that would make any village maiden squeal. Unfortunately, Rosaline wasn’t a village maiden, and in her career, where it was common to see armor-like muscles that were as hard as a rock, the body of this apprentice knight was like tofu.

“Don’t they need to apply first? Don’t you need to gather only the ones who applied for an interview? And if it’s just that big of a six-pack…”

Rosaline slid her uniform shirt up, looked at her abdomen, and nodded. ‘…Mine is better.’ Raymond was so terrified that he quickly pulled down her uniform.

“Ro-Ro-Rosaline! You can’t do that outside!”

“He took off his clothes.”

Raymond then muttered this was that guy’s fault and went wild.

“You there! How dare you take off your clothes when you’re required to look neat as a knight! One week of suspension for you!”

The apprentice knight who had boasted of his muscles returned to the dormitory feeling suffocated. 

‘Oh, so we can’t do that?’ As she reached a rational conclusion based on the sequence of events, Rosaline nodded in agreement. Raymond sighed in relief.

“Where were we?”

“Applications.”

“Oh, right. Applications. I don’t think I saw this many applications. It seems everyone wants to be your apprentice knight. Do you know how famous you are now?”

“I’m famous?”

Rosaline opened her eyes and looked up. Raymond grinned and clasped her shoulders.

“Of course. ‘Rosaline: the strong knight who saved His Highness Ricardis!’ Everyone likes you and respects you. Even if you look at it modestly… Those who have the chance to be your apprentice knights… will be thrilled and throw themselves at your feet.”

Rosaline was greatly impressed by the fact that everyone liked and respected her. She had previously asked Raymond, ‘You’re… my only friend?’ Now she seemed as happy and shocked as she had been that time.

Rosaline looked around her. Whether a male or a female knight, they all had bright eyes, which somehow reminded her of Leticia and Eberhard. Rosaline chuckled.

“It feels great.”

Raymond looked at her and smiled with a ‘Hahaha’. ‘How popular is our Rosaline? Isn’t it great?’ 

Rosaline was proud to receive such direct adoration.

The two of them wandered around the training ground for a while longer. Raymond corrected the posture of some of the sword-wielding apprentice knights while Rosaline fought one-on-one with others. After she caused three apprentice knights to pass out, Rosaline only demonstrated swordsmanship skills. Everyone felt motivated by having the assistant deputy commander and a well-known senior knight guiding them.

Then, Macaron, who had spun around in the sky, finally came down. The apprentice knights watched in hesitation before flocking to the eagle. 

“It’s Sir Rosaline’s famous pet, Sir Macaron!”

“Wow, Sir Macaron!”

“It’s gigantic!”

“So cool!”

“I’ve never seen an eagle this close!”

Macaron showed off its cool looks to the apprentice knights by stretching its head toward the sky and raising its wing to one side. 

‘Both the owner and the pet are spotlight-loving kids…’ Raymond smiled faintly.

The apprentice knights, who filled the training ground, laughed and chatted around Rosaline and Raymond. Because of that, the boy watching them from afar looked conspicuous. Rosaline, stroking Macaron’s feathers, noticed the boy. He had a pretty hair color similar to raspberry wine.

When their eyes met, the boy trembled so much that she could see it from afar. The boy looked at her so passionately that Rosaline was surprised by his stark gaze. The boy hesitated, then bowed his head slightly in silence. Rosaline blinked her eyes, and she accepted his greeting.

“So, before they touch you… Sir Macaron, will you allow them to touch you? If you nod your head after I politely ask, I will take it as yes, they can touch… Oh, Sir Macaron! You can’t do that! You should correct a junior’s mistake with love!”

Raymond was trying to calm Macaron— who attacked one of the apprentice knights— when he realized Rosaline was looking into the distance. As he followed the direction of her gaze, he saw a handsome boy.

“What’s wrong, Rosaline?”

“What is his name?”

Even though Raymond helped manage the Knights of the White Night, he could not remember all the names of the numerous apprentice knights. Still, Raymond immediately recalled the boy’s name because he was a memorable person in many ways.

“Hessa. One of the few guys who came in this time. He’s from Roots. His swordsmanship is a bit weak, but he stands out in battle. He was selected because he had excellent basic fighting skills.”

The apprentice knight, Hessa, came out from beneath the tree’s shade and approached cautiously. Suddenly, a wildflower was in his hand. The boy stood before numerous apprentice knights and went down on one knee. He bowed his head and held out the flower to Rosaline. The tips of his ears were red.

“Will you accept this flower, Sir Rosaline?”

Raymond was perplexed. ‘To give a bribe while everyone is watching, he’s so daring!’

Rosaline nodded and took the flower from the boy.

As the flower stalk slid out of his hand, Hessa lifted his head in surprise. The red flush spread from the tips of his ears and dyed his entire face. The boy hurriedly looked up as if on fire, not knowing what to do, but then looked at Rosaline with determined eyes.

At that moment, a muted look appeared on Rosaline’s face. At the same time, Macaron, sitting on Raymond’s arm, looked at Hessa. They suddenly felt a familiar energy move in the boy’s body. The magic within him beats as powerfully as his heart.

However, it wasn’t dark red and violent like the magic of the Black Moon assassins Rosaline had recently experienced countless times. His was a pure black color— a perfect darkness without blemish. It was a quiet force. The magic power of the boy was similar to Rosaline’s to the extent that she felt like she was looking in a mirror.

Hessa’s face flushed at Rosaline’s steady gaze.

They stared at each other in a quiet bubble as if someone had doused the excitement with cold water. It was the ripple effect caused by a single flower gifted by an apprentice knight when Sir Macaron was showing off its handsome figure. What a strange and awkward atmosphere. The eyes of the apprentice knights looking at Hessa got fiercer. Raymond glanced over and intervened in a playful voice.

“Ro- Rosaline, shall we go back soon and look at the apprentice knights again later?”

‘Ah, apprentice. Right, I was here to pick an apprentice knight.’ Rosaline recalled her original purpose. Her gaze turned to Hessa again. ‘Everyone wants to be your apprentice knight,’ Raymond said, so she doesn’t need them to have a formal application. She only needs to pick the right one.

Rosaline nodded decisively. Raymond thought she was answering his question to return early, but…

“You. Become my apprentice knight,” she said.

Only the sound of the wind, passing through the training grounds with hundreds of apprentice knights, was heard. After a while, Hessa, who had a dazed expression, became startled and covered his mouth.